Matthew 7:1-2 (NIV), “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged…” Luke 6:37, “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.” Some feel from this that we are not to judge anything. However, the concept behind these scriptures is to be careful how we judge, because in the same way you judge others, shall the Lord judge you. If you are judging/condemning others and feeling superior to them, and yet you are acting and doing as they, beware!
Interestingly, the Lord is developing his Church, i.e. the saints, into judges. Matthew 19:28, “And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That, you which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, you also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” Again Jesus states, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment” (John 7:24). 1 Corinthians 6:2, “Do you not know that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world shall be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?”
In John 5:30, Jesus tells us how He judges in order to teach us how to judge: “as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.”
One of the main thing we are to learn in this life is good judgment. When judging, should we include compassion? Compassion comes from committing sin and, having failed ourselves, we feel empathy for others. Other times, we can imagine what people have experienced and understand what caused them to do those things. We can, again, be compassionate.
One of our jobs as Christians, training to be judges, is to make judgments about how to respond to people. Our response should always be to help others to get back on the right track. To do this in the best manner, we need to seek the will of the Father in all aspects life. So, should I eat dinner with a wicked person? Sometimes avoiding a person is the best message that we can give. This is what the Apostle Paul recommended to the Corinthian Church in 1 Corinthians 5:5.